Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Les Menus for the Week of August 8, 2008

Lots of exciting dishes and new discoveries this week.

Le Menu August 5, 2008

LA NOIX DE SAINT JACQUES GRILLEELE BEURREBLANC AU SAFRAN

Sorry folks, I still don't like scallops. Those tiny ones battered and fried are good but the big guys just have a texture issue for me. At least the person I served like it. For me, I think they're just not cooked enough for my taste. *shrugs*

This is a lovely chicken dish with a cream mushroom sauce, glazed baby carrots and the pan seared potatoes. I really enjoyed this one. Who would have thought that I'd ever eat mushrooms and like it? I know I didn't but since we use so much of them, I've had to be brave and give them a try. And darn if I don't like them. I'm not going to lie and say I like all mushrooms or would eat them raw but at least it's a start.

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LES FRAISES AU SABAYON

Sadly I didn't get to try this one. I mean I tried the one Chef Patrice demoed but time was of the essence and I only had enough time to serve the dish. It's fruit in a caramelized meringue like sauce.

Le Menu for August 6, 2008

LA SALADE CAESAR

Yes, I made Caesar salad dressing. We used pasteurized eggs and anchovies packed in oil. It was really, really good. I doubt I'd make this much at home from scratch because I don't have much use for the anchovies... yet. I can't believe that the anchovies were actually kind of tasty. We'll see where this leads.-

Bread veal with an elaborate sauce and garnish. We had to peel and slice lemons, top that with a half a green olive and wrap the olive with an anchovy. The sauce (hard to see in this picture) was an interestingconcoction using a hard boiled egg and herbs. But it worked! Cheesy baked potatoes and string beans. I can apparently make a mean batch of cheesy baked potatoes.

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LA SALADE DE FRUITS FRAISLES PALMIERSLES BISCOTTIS

Palmiers, sometimes called Elephant Ears is another dessert that is great when you have leftover puff pastry and don't want to toss it out. I have to be careful or I'll eat far too many of those darn cookies. The biscotti was easy to make (why do they charge so much for them again?) much to my friends at Combattitude and my husband but I just can't get much into them. The fruit salad is the most elegant version I've ever seen or eaten. Perfect for when you have a mess of fruit and need to do something with it before it goes bad.

Le Menu for August 7, 2008

LES GNOCCHIS A LA ROMAINELA SAUCE TOMATE AU FENOUIL

OK, there are 3 types of gnocchi. The one everybody knows made from potatoes, this one made using semolina, and a third using the same Pate Au Choux from the desserts I made earlier, but boiled. This version reminds me of a lasagna-like dish using polenta. We sauteed butternut squash and placed that between the layers and then made a fennel flavored sauce. Incredible. Bryan's new favorite pasta dish and most appreciated when served to my friends at Combattitude.

This time we sauteed trout and served it with braised endives and broccoli. Unfortunately this shot isn't as nice as what I served because we about ran out of the endives and broccoli. No matter, it was tasty.

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LA TARTELETTE AU CITRON MERINGUEE

I still need to work on dealing with pie dough quickly. It tasted great but getting the dough thin enough and into the form was a PAIN IN THE BUTT! The lemon curd we made is zingy which I like. Then we did a simply meringue on top. Did you know there are 3 types of meringue? French - the kind everybody makes from egg whites and sugar, Swiss which has been warmed up a bit to melt the sugar and start to cook the egg whites a touch. Italian is egg whites mixed with sugar cooked to the soft ball stage. We're talking HOT! This is the same stuff that you mix with butter and flavorings once it's cooled down to get buttercream frosting.

Le Menu August 8, 2008

LES RAVIOLIS DE CREVETTESLA SAUCE A LA CRÈME ET BASILIC

This is the dish that made me want to buy a pasta machine. Haven't yet but I still want one. The raviolis are filled with minced shrimp and butter then dressed with creamy sauce (similar to an Alfredo) with basil. My team mate and I made pigs of ourselves on this one.

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LES OEUFSBROUILLESPORTUGAISELES POMMESFRITES

No, this is not a normal plating but we needed to get the techniques in somehow. The french fries are properly cooked twice. The first blanches/cooks the inside, the second crisps up the outside. Lesson learned, don't leave french fries around or people will walk by and sneak of with them! The eggs are scrambled until you get little curds and it's still a little wet. Not the way I like them but the technique to get the texture was worth learning.

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LA MERINGUE AUX FRUITS ROUGES

Take the meringue we'd piped a few days ago, cook it at low heat until they're dried out. Layer them with berries. Drizzle with a berry coulis (sauce) and whipped cream. I'd love to see this served to some little girls having a tea party. =)